Tag Archives: empty tomb

On this Easter Sunday, we read about what happened on the day that Jesus was raised from the dead. It all started with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. However, they were shocked to find that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb. They had been concerned that it would be too heavy for them to move. They were even more shocked to find an angel in the tomb. Whenever anyone saw an angel, they would invariably be afraid. That is why here, as on the other occasions recorded in Scripture, the first words of the angel were “Do not be alarmed.” Then he gave them the message that Jesus was alive, he had risen from the dead.

They were given a message to take to the disciples, that Jesus was alive and going into Galilee. Interestingly, they were told to tell the disciples AND PETER! This showed that God wanted to restore him after his three time denial of the Lord.

The women were still absolutely terrified, so they simply ran away, and didn’t give that message to anyone. We do learn from the other Gospels that Mary Magdalene did meet the risen Jesus later on, and recognised who he was. At this stage, though the overwhelming emotion was one of fear.

The important thing is that Christ was risen. That meant that his work of redemption on the cross was completed by him and accepted by the Father. He is risen, so death and his enemies have been defeated. Therefore, we can have eternal life.

Let’s thank God today for that tremendous victory.

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!